Andrea Horwath - Leader's Speech to Provincial Council September 2018

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 2018 | 11:30 AM

Good morning everyone!

Bonjour tout le monde!

Hello New Democrats! It’s so good to be back together!
Thank you for being here.

Je vous remercie de votre présence aujourd’hui.

I want to begin by acknowledging that we are meeting today on the traditional territory of:

the Haudenosaunee,

the Anishnaabeg,

the Wendat,

the Metis,

and the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation.

And as we meet here today, we renew our commitment as New Democrats, to true and meaningful reconciliation…

… Based on respect, cooperation, and action – to make people’s lives better and build stronger communities across the province.
I think it might be a bit of an understatement to say this.
But a lot has happened since the last time we got together for provincial council.
So today, before I give you an update on what our amazing Caucus has been up to...
I want to recognize the hard work and determination that all of you poured into our campaign.

Thanks to your energy, your optimism and your tireless work the people of this province made us not only Ontario’s Official Opposition...

But the largest Official Opposition in thirty three years!

Ensemble, nous avons élu la plus grande opposition officielle dans 30 ans!
We have a Caucus that is 50 percent women, with the most women MPPs that the Ontario NDP has ever elected!
We have a strong, incredibly diverse team of MPPs that reflects the reality of our beautiful province…
from Ottawa and Kingston… to St. Catharines and Kitchener…
from Toronto and Brampton … to Windsor and London…
from Sudbury and Timmins to Sioux Lookout, Kingfisher Lake and Thunder Bay…
New Democrat MPPs are ready to share our vision of hope and positive change in every corner of Ontario.
But there’s more!
Our party is younger, more diverse and more energized than it has ever been.
Because we didn’t just elect more amazing New Democrat MPPs,
we also grew our movement in a big way with new members, new donors and new volunteers!
I want to begin by recognizing the 124 amazing candidates that ran for us across the province. I was so proud to lead that team of dedicated, principled and hard working candidates. I ask all the candidates in the room to stand and be recognized.

We as candidates know it takes an incredible team of staff and volunteers to run a campaign and connect with the people of Ontario.

If you worked as staff, or if you gave your time as a volunteer – please stand if you are able, be recognized and give yourself and your colleagues a well-deserved round of applause!

These past few months have been a stark reminder of how important our work is.
Every day in Ontario, people continue to work hard, but fall further behind. They are paying more, but getting less.
As housing costs, auto insurance rates and hydro bills continue to climb…
our children’s schools fall further into disrepair,
our commutes get more difficult as gridlock worsens,
and every day Ontarians are waiting and waiting in hospitals, only to be treated on gurneys in crowded hallways, without privacy or dignity.

Ça ne peut plus continuer comme ça.

After 15 years of disappointing Liberal governments that only made life more difficult for hard-working families, Ontarians need relief.
They need a government that will lift people up.
That will help people build better lives.
That will build a better future for all of us.

But instead, Ontario’s families are already worried that Doug Ford has taken things from bad to worse.
So after three months as Premier, what has Doug Ford done?
He has consistently targeted the most vulnerable people in our communities –
He slashed 330 million dollars a year from mental health funding!

He cut increases to already meager social assistance rates!

And he cancelled the basic income pilot that was showing promise in helping thousands of Ontarians climb out of poverty.

Doug Ford even went so far as to pull $500,000 in funding from an after-school arts program for low-income kids!
And when it comes to our schools, Mr. Ford’s backwards priorities are even more clear.
Instead of making a plan to finally address the $16 billion backlog in school repairs the Liberals left after 15 years of government,he made the decision to cut $100 million from repair funds.

Talk about bad to worse!

Mr. Ford is leaving students, parents and educators to brave schools with leaky roofs,no air conditioning on sweltering 40 degree days,broken boilers in the dead of winter
and water fountains that you can’t drink from for fear of lead poisoning.
To appease radical social conservatives like Tanya Granic Allen who don’t want kids to learn about consent, cyberbullying, gender identity and LGBTQ families,
Doug Ford used his power to make Ontario students less safe, scrapping the modern sex ed curriculum and dragging our province’s schools back into the previous century!
And Doug Ford couldn’t spare even one word in his Throne Speech for Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.
He has no time for Indigenous curriculum writing sessions – he cancelled those months ago, and still hasn’t rescheduled them.
He has sidestepped his responsibility to clean up the mercury that has poisoned the people of Grassy Narrows, poisoned thier land, poisoned thier water.
But when it comes to subsidizing beer companies, suddenly his government has found their voice!
When it comes to making deals in back rooms that install his friends in cushy patronage positions, they are positivley fired up!
When it comes to doubling down on Kathleen Wynne’s Hydro One scheme,
turning the $6 million man into a $9 million man at the expense of families’ hydro rates,

Ripping up lawful government contracts and passing unfair laws that protect his government from penalties…
It seems Doug Ford has found some priorities he can get behind!
In fact, this week, we got maybe the clearest example of what Doug Ford thinks being the Premier of Ontario is all about.
On Monday, Mr. Ford decided he would become the very first Premier in Ontario’s history to invoke the notwithstanding clause and suspend part of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
You see, he trampled on people’s rights with his anti-democratic, Toronto election-rigging bill...
And when the Courts told him that he couldn’t do that –
Doug Ford didn’t take the time to think long and hard about what his responsibility to Ontarians was.
He didn’t find a way forward that respects people’s rights.

He just decided to take those rights away.
And for what? Et pour quoi?

Just what is it that he is willing to sacrifice the Charter rights of Ontarians for?
To plow ahead with his revenge plot against old political foes at Toronto City Hall.

We have watched Doug Ford attack our courts.

He has attached members of the public visiting Queens Park.

And he is now attacking anyone that threatens to stand up to him.

He’s even pushing through new rules in the legislature, changing the standing orders to horde even more power for himself...

He’s trying to stop us from speaking out...trying to stop us from putting our ideas forward.

As yo may know, our MPPs and I will head back to Queens Park this afternoon, because Mr. Ford has called back the House

...So that he can ram through his plot to trample on the rights of Ontarians in Toronto.

Our role in standing up against that anti-democratic move is important...

So we’ll be there...

But for Ontarians, for the people we serve....

It’s wrong that the legislature this weekend will only deal with Ford’s grudge match instead of real, and growing problems:

*Like health care wait times

*Like lead in the water at our childrens’ schools

*Like the over 80,000 jobs that were lost in our province in August

Well, you know Doug? You are the Premier of Ontario,

not the KING of Ontario!

Faites attention, Doug - vous n'êtes pas le roi de l'Ontario!
And even more chilling than the change in rules they dropped on us on Thursday

and the cavalier invocation of the notwithstanding clause on Monday is Doug Ford’s threat that if the Courts don’t rule how he likes in the future, he will not hesitate to override the Charter Rights of the people of Ontario again...and again and again...
I know the last few months have been tough at times. I know that every single person in this room has given so much.
Your time, your energy, your skills, your selves…

I know that sometimes we can get tired. And rightfully so.
But I also want to assure you that, as strange as it may seem, our mission hasn’t changed.
Our mission is exactly the same as it was on the night the people of Ontario elected us to be the largest Official Opposition in a generation.
And it will be the same, regardless of what Doug Ford does next.
As New Democrats, and as the Official Opposition,
we will always stand up for the people of Ontario.
All the people of Ontario.
Nous défendrons toujours tous les Ontariennes et Ontariens.

We will fight for them and alongside them.
Because we know it does not have to be this way.
Because in this great province…

… we know that we can do better.
We know that Ontarians expect better. And deserve better.
We all know that it’s possible for everyone to build a good life, right here in Ontario.

We can have an Ontario with more prosperity for working people,
more security for families,
and more opportunity for everyone who needs it.
An Ontario where we don’t increase the gap between the rich and the rest of us,
or even just stop it from getting wider –
but actually start to close it.

As we hold this government to account over the next four years,
we are fighting to remind Ontarians that their government should be – and could be – focused on what really matters…
We are showing them that there are people at Queens Park with a vision that is built on their ideas, their needs and their priorities.
Because our kids’ schools are crumbling, and they need us to fix them!
Because far too many parents in this province are still getting priced out of quality licensed child care.
Because every single worker deserves a 15 dollar minimum wage…
And families need access to quality housing that they can actually afford!
Because people in municipalities across the province need us to restore public transit funding and get people moving…
And every Ontarian needs us to fight climate change, protect their clean air and their fresh water.
Because we have a sacred responsibility to work with Indigenous peoples,
dismantle colonialism
and actually start to fix the damage that is still being done.

Everything we do…
as New Democrats and as the Official Opposition…
Is about showing how our government will look when people are at the heart of every decision.
So, while Doug Ford makes deep cuts to health care,
we are showing Ontarians that their government could be making it stronger!
We are showing them that in Ontario,

we can end hallway medicine in our hospitals,
and fix seniors care for all of our loved ones!
We can stop claw-backs, funding freezes and cuts to front-line care workers.
In fact, we can go further than that!
We can deliver dental care and pharmacare for every single Ontarian,
so that no parent has to put off their kids’ checkups…
and no senior has to cut her pills in half…
just because money is tight.
We can make sure that there is quality, truly universal healthcare for Ontarians,
when and where they need it.
While Doug Ford threatens to yank university funding and make students’ tuition even more expensive than it already is,
we’re showing students that they don’t have to settle for a government willing to saddle them with mountains of student debt!
Because in Ontario, we can make sure young people get more opportunities instead of more debt.
We can convert crushing student loans into grants and create thousands of student co-op jobs.
And we can give young people a better start in life.
While Doug Ford doubles down on Kathleen Wynne’s Hydro One scheme,
and sticks hard-working families with even higher bills,
we’re showing rate-payers a way out of this mess.
Because in Ontario, we can stop privatization and undo the damage that the Liberals and Conservatives have done!
We can bring Hydro One back into public hands where it belongs and finally begin to lower hydro bills for everyone.
And while Doug Ford governs by backroom deal, returning favours to his wealthy, well-connected insiders,
We’re showing people how we can make life more affordable for everyday families
instead of making it even more profitable for the wealthiest.
Because in Ontario, we can make sure that the most profitable corporations and the wealthiest people pay their fair share!

We will be a thorn in the side of this government. And we will make sure that Doug Ford is a one term Premier!

Pour un Ontario meilleur, agissons ensemble !

Friends, as we all keep doing this work – as a Caucus and as a Party –
As we continue to stick up for the amazing people of our province and fight Doug Ford’s agenda with every tool at our disposal,
and as we continue to share our positive, progressive vision for the future – a vision of change for the better…

We will grow our movement,
we will rally Ontarians,

and in 2022 we will begin to transform this province
as a government committed to justice, dignity and prosperity for every Ontarian.

Thank you very much!
Merci beacoup!
Miigwetch!